Within three years, he expected at least half of the festival’s sets would be devoted to electronic dance music.

It's only been two, and already Farrell's vision seems to have been fulfilled, at least on Friday for Lollapalooza 2013's first day. Between straight-up DJs and electronic-music-flirting rock and pop acts, the sound of musical machines was everywhere in Grant Park, as were approximately 100,000 people looking for a great time.

Here’s a sample of what went down:

Photo by Piet Levy

Nine Inch Nails

Fans of Nine Inch Nails have been anxiously awaiting the return of Trent Reznor’s industrial project ever since it went on hiatus in 2009. But when Reznor took the stage as Lolla headliner Friday, for Nine Inch Nails’ first U.S. show in four years, he made them wait even longer to rock out. At first, he was on stage alone to debut the starkly menacing "Copy Of A" for its first U.S. performance. Eventually, the band joined in and the music filled out, but Reznor continued to restrain himself, increasing the anxiety with another new one, "Came Back Haunted," that saw him hunched over a mic, neck muscles tightening, awash in blinding spotlights. It was only on the fifth song that the tension finally snapped, with the guitar-stabbing, drum-slamming, mic-stand-tossing release of “March of the Pigs.” Reznor didn’t just come back haunted - he came back as good as ever.

Bonus observation: During the climax of "Haunted," Reznor picked up a tambourine, shaking it and slapping it against his chest. I don't think this particularly enhanced anything. I sure couldn't hear it. But Reznor did manage to become the baddest-looking dude to ever shake a tambourine in the history of mankind.

Photo by Piet Levy

Emeli Sande

It seemed at first that Emeli Sande would have to open the sold-out Lollapalooza with no fans right in front of the stage. A massive and muddy stretch of Grant Park space was blocked off, but just as Sande's set was about to begin, the ropes came down and people sprinted, slid and spilled through the mud, like a sea of soldiers storming a castle. Shoes and the field may have suffered, but Sande's set was the better for it. She fed off the crowd's energy, pacing the stage and punctuating her emotional delivery with body bends and arm gestures. And that voice on opener "Heaven" - well, take a guess at what adjective I'd use to describe it.

Photo by Piet Levy

Icona Pop
The two gals in Swedish electropop duo Icona Pop are the queens of summer with their smash hit “I Love It,” but summer is coming to an end, so Lollapalooza was a crucial opportunity to try to extend its shelf life beyond the season. But in extending its two-and-a-half-minute run time into a sprawling six minutes with ebbs and flows, Icona Pop sabotaged what would have otherwise been a surefire Lolla highlight. As for Pop’s new material, it's plenty peppy - one song even had a kazoo - and it's more diverse than latest single "All Night," a thinly veiled double of the megahit, would suggest. And Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo tried their best to be pop stars with some spins and speaker climbs. But the other songs don't contain that special spark, to the point where people might be more inclined to say “I don’t care” than “I love it.”

Photo by Piet Levy

New Order

At a festival where cutting-edge electronic beats were always within earshot, the distinctly '80s, rapid-fire electric drumming of New Order’s “Blue Monday” out-rocked them all. That’s because the British band has seminal songs that have endured across decades. Even without founding member Peter Hook, wide-eyed wonders like “Bizarre Love Triangle” and “Ceremony” sounded just about better than everything else at Lolla Friday.

Photo by Piet Levy

Jessie Ware

"I need your devotion," Jessie Ware cooed atop "Devotion" at the start of her Friday afternoon Lollapalooza set. There was no need to plead. With understated, soulful voice, she slinked across the stage, and with her live band achieving a calming, cool, electrosoul atmosphere, Ware was able to earn audience admiration from the onset. Among the songs Ware fared best on was "Valentine," with her drummer joining in on a vocal duet. Ware will headline Turner Hall Ballroom Nov. 9.

Photo by Piet Levy

Dillon Francis
The bass was thumping so loudly at the EDM-oriented Perry's stage during Dillon Francis' set that empty beer cans and water cartons were bouncing off the ground to the beat. The sheer intensity of it all was pretty exhilarating - walking in front of a speaker in the photo pit, you could feel the music vibrating through your entire body. But Francis kept going in circles - beat builds up here, bass drops there - so that it started to fall into a predictable cycle, like the one alluded to in the Fatboy Slim song Francis touched upon that pushes people to "eat, sleep, rave, repeat."

Photo by Piet Levy

Hot Chip
Last time Hot Chip was in Milwaukee, it performed a surprisingly underwhelming opening set for the late LCD Soundsystem. (To be fair, James Murphy's group would be hard for any act to match in a live setting.) Friday at Lolla, however, the seven-piece Hot Chip was on fire, with a bassist wiggling his hips here, a cowbell being smacked by a drumstick there, the group harmoniously working together to inspire dancing through imaginative grooves, as opposed to cheap and easy bass drops. Maybe that Milwaukee show was an off night. Maybe Hot Chip's improved as a live band in the past two years. Maybe it was inspired to share a Lollapalooza with clear influence New Order. Or maybe it's the strength of the band's latest album, "In Our Heads," which dominated the beginning of the set. Whatever the reason, Hot Chip embraced the theme of "Heads" song "Don't Deny Your Heart," playing like "there's nothing to lose."

Photo by Piet Levy

Lolla's Wisconsin Connections

Among such foodstuffs as deep-dish pizza and lobster corndogs, Wisconsin found its way into the Lollapalooza menu. Burrito Beach was serving up a Wisconsin goat cheese, black bean and poblano quesadilla, while Edzo’s Burger Shop had a Wisconsin bacon cheddar burger. And there was actually a vendor at Lolla. Brunkow Cheese in Darlington, about an hour’s drive southwest of Madison, was back at the fest for its fourth year, with Brazilian-style grilled cheese rectangles on sticks. Their gooey, glorious creations included a smoked-bacon-infused cheese with pineapple chipotle syrup, and another variety with hatch chile and hot pepper jelly. Artisanal cheesemaker Joe Burns said they expected to grill up 10,000 servings of their cheese over the weekend. “I’ve been trying to get Summerfest to let us in there, but it hasn’t happened yet,” Burns said. Keep trying, Joe.

On the Milwaukee airwaves: WLUM-FM (102.1) has its own tent and everything in the media section at Lolla, where it brought in acts like Imagine Dragons, Atlas Genius and Smith Westerns for interviews Friday - and, in the case of Matt and Kim, an hourlong guest DJ set. More band interviews, including with top-of-the-bill names Phoenix and Vampire Weekend, are scheduled for later this weekend. “One of our goals is to be connected to music at all times, and to be a conduit for Milwaukee,” said station manager Jacent Jackson. “Plus, doing this is fun.”

Madison-area band PHOX has been added to the Lolla lineup at the last minute; rapper Azealia Banks canceled due to a throat infection, causing some acts to be moved around, ultimately creating a noon vacancy Saturday which PHOX is filling.